


All is fair in love and war.

by Kxng



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - kingdoms, Fluff and Angst, Kings & Queens, M/M, Minor Character Death, Royalty, Strangers to Lovers, War, fantasy sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-13 18:47:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14118618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kxng/pseuds/Kxng
Summary: Junhoe hadn't expected to fall in love ever again, especially not with someone he met outside of the battlefield from the other kingdom.





	1. Firsts and lasts

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there!   
> This is my first iKON fanfiction and I'm super excited about it! I've got a lot planned out for this story so I hope you all look forward to it!  
> SO a few basics here:  
> Aléria is the kingdom where Hanbin and Junhoe come from and where Hanbin's father rules.  
> Valmeria is the kingdom where Jiwon and Donghyk are from.  
> This is kinda a backstory/start up before the real story begins. So i hope you all like it <3

Koo Junhoe hasn’t had the easiest life,   
His parents died when he was only four years old, leaving him to be raised by everyone at the royal court. The maids took care of Junhoe, the cooks spend their free time with him and the librarians tried to entertain Junhoe with stories. When he turned six the King – who had taken a part in his upbringing – let him attend classes with his son Hanbin.

The two boys were inseparable ever since the first time they met, both lived at court which meant there weren’t many children around and the ones that were, were usually too scared to play with them because they were sons and daughters of the court staff. The librarians taught them how to read and write, the maids taught them how to dress properly and then there was Jiyong. Jiyong was still young especially for what he did, he taught them manners, proper annunciation and all of those things whilst being nineteen himself. Junhoe and Hanbin were being prepared to take over king Kim’s position one day.

Junhoe assumed that the plan had always been for him and Hanbin to get married, their fathers were best friends and their mothers were good friends as well. They were probably lucky that they hit it off so well, it was always Hanbin and Junhoe, Junhoe and Hanbin. Where Junhoe was Hanbin was sure to follow.

Junhoe had always been the more adventurous one, more daring. He wasn’t all too scared with breaking a few of Jiyong’s rules, Hanbin on the other hand was more timid.   
Junhoe loved to spend his time in the kitchen, the kitchen staff were the kindest people in the castle – besides Hanbin of course. The kitchen staff all joked around and were very nice people and they’d let Junhoe help making the dishes for the day. Junhoe’s nice attire had been stained with food more times than he could count, there was a tailor for him at least once a week to measure him and make him some new clothing. Jiyong had scolded him countless of times to leave the kitchen staff alone and let them do their job but Seunghyun – one of the cooks – always told Jiyong he liked having a kid around, with a wink which made Jiyong lost for words and blush to which Junhoe and Seunghyun laughed.

Hanbin preferred to stay in his chamber to read and write, until Junhoe dragged him with him to the kitchen. Junhoe had convinced Hanbin that cooking was fun.

“I’m not sure Junhoe,” Hanbin had said nervously as he took Junhoe’s hand and played with his fingers, “Jiyong hyung doesn’t like it when we break the rules”   
“Well Jiyong is nothing but loose threats” Seunghyun had told Hanbin, “He would never lay his hands on the prince” Seunghyun said as he was cutting vegetables, “Now pass me the spices, the red ones” he nudged to a grey bowl with red powder in it, Hanbin took it in his hands carefully, “Here, taste it Binnie!” Junhoe said, as he excitedly dabbed a finger in the red powder and held it in front of Hanbin’s mouth “say ‘aah’” he said, snickering.

Hanbin wished he had never opened his mouth.

His tongue was burning as he greedily gulped down the water Seunghyun had offered him. His eyes were set on Junhoe as he threw some of the red powder onto the boys’ clothes. The red powder stuck out like a sore thumb on Junhoe’s white undergarment. Hanbin snickered.   
Junhoe smiled with an evil glint in his eyes before he grabbed a handful of flower and threw it towards Hanbin, Hanbin’s hair and face were covered in the flower as he chased after Junhoe with tomatoes in his hands, Junhoe hid behind one of the kitchen staff when Hanbin threw a tomato it bounced right off of the man’s leg. Hanbin ran towards Junhoe who had sprinted away and he squeezed the tomato onto his head before dashing off.

When Jiyong had entered the kitchen, it was a whole mess and the boys who had caused it were sound asleep in the corner of the room covered from head to toe in food and spices. Jiyong was at a loss for words when Seunghyun kissed him on the cheek with a smile as he went out to deliver todays dish to the court staff, looking like he had been in the middle of a food war.

Junhoe had helped Hanbin out of his shell, Hanbin became more outgoing and less shy.

When they were twelve they went out alone for the first time and play hide and seek in the woods till the sun went down and a worried Jiyong tried to find them. When they were fourteen they would go horseback riding without any instructor for the first time, they also broke a bone for the first time that day. When they were fifteen they went outside of the court for the first time, when they were sixteen they fell in love for the first time – or maybe that had been all the way back when they were seven. They were sixteen when they shared their first kiss. They experienced all of their firsts together, but one did only Junhoe experience – a heartbreak.

King Kim held the annual ball, dukes, kings and even common folk were all invited to the castle for a grand party. Hanbin and Junhoe were attending as they did every year, Hanbin held onto Junhoe like a lifeline not being too keen on crowds anyways. They greeted the guest politely, the people bowed and they would nod their head in acknowledgement and if they were royals or rich they would bow back.

 

“Good evening your highness, what a beautiful night to host a party but it wouldn’t match with yours”

 

That sentence, that _goddamn_ sentence was the first pull. The handsome face was the second, the charming personality the third and the notes and letters were the final pull.

Just like that – _just like that_ did Kim Jiwon pull Hanbin away from Junhoe, right under his nose. The saddest part is that Junhoe couldn’t have stopped it if he wanted to. Hanbin fell in love the moment Jiwon opened his _fucking_ mouth.

Junhoe should hate him, but he couldn’t.   
Junhoe loved Hanbin but Hanbin didn’t love Junhoe anymore.

Junhoe should hate Jiwon, rightfully so and he hated the fact that he didn’t – not really at least.  
The man hadn’t known that Hanbin and he were practically engaged since birth, he couldn’t have known since he was a duke of Roselyn, land that belonged to the kingdom of Valmeria. He had no business with whatever the heir of Aléria was up to.

Even sadder was that Junhoe had seen this coming, Hanbin had only ever known Junhoe, the moment someone more interesting or more capable would come along Hanbin would know. He would know there was more to this world than Junhoe, like Jiwon.

 

Hanbin had told him – with tears in his eyes and with a heavy heart – that he loved Jiwon, he was in love with Jiwon.   
“I love him Junhoe, I’m sorry, I never meant for this to happen. We were happy, _I_ was happy.” He said, tears streaming down his face.   
Junhoe smiled, gently. As he took off his gloves, he brought his hands to Hanbin’s face to wipe away the tears. “It’s okay Binnie,” He said, the same endearment to the nickname as before this happened “I understand,” He brought Hanbin’s face to his to share _their_ first last kiss.   


Junhoe had stepped down from the marriage, king Kim was enraged with Hanbin at first. Until he noticed that a marriage between Hanbin and Jiwon could offer him more land, Roselyn was a big province and it bordered right next to Bluewell, one of Aléria’s provinces. 

Hanbin and Jiwon hadn’t cared, Jiwon was ready to give up his land for Hanbin but the king was having none of that. He wanted the land, which caused trouble with the king of Valmeria. Eventually the Valmerian king gave in and gave Jiwon and Hanbin the land as a wedding gift.

The wedding was _humongous_ , and that was even an understatement.   
The bouquets were bigger than Junhoe, everything was so perfectly white that it hurt to look at. Hanbin had been pacing up and down the entire time Junhoe had seen him, he was either nervously interrogating the staff and planners, asking where Jiwon was, where Junhoe was or where Jiyong was.

Junhoe wanted to tell Hanbin that Jiyong was probably talking to Youngbae and Daesung – the court singers, but Hanbin looked so stressed he decided to take Hanbin with him for a while.

“It’s all too stressful” Hanbin sighed as Junhoe poured him a glass of wine, “I should’ve just married you, you’re way more organized than Jiwon” He laughed nervously.   
Junhoe couldn’t help the tug at his heart, it had been two years since Junhoe and Hanbin had parted ways – read as Junhoe got dumped.

“Maybe you should’ve” he responded as he sat down next to Hanbin underneath a tree. He’d never tell Hanbin he wasn’t over him, the older thought Junhoe had moved on as fast as he had done.   
“But you wouldn’t have been happy” Junhoe said, Hanbin hit him softly on his arm “I would’ve been more than happy with you Junhoe” he said.

 _“Then why are we here.”_ Junhoe thought, Hanbin took Junhoe’s hand and played with his fingers, a habit he had developed when he was nervous. “It’s all just so stressing, I had considered eloping but Jiwon said he didn’t want to”

“You wanted to get married without me?” Junhoe asked in a mocking-hurt tone. “Of course, not silly, I would’ve taken you with me” Hanbin said looking down at Junhoe’s hands, “Your hands are more calloused since you joined the royal guard” he said absentmindedly.

Junhoe had joined the royal guard’s practices a year before he turned eighteen, after Hanbin and Jiwon got together he joined them.

“Can’t walk around with soft baby hands when I wield weapons on a daily basis” Junhoe said. Hanbin smiled down at his hands as he intertwined them, “remember this tree?” he asked, Junhoe looked up “Didn’t I climb this tree whilst you were crying because you thought I was going to die?” Junhoe smiled as Hanbin whined, “You could’ve died!” he defended himself, “But this is the tree we engraved our initials in when we were like twelve, remember?”

Junhoe did, they had stolen one of Seunghyun’s kitchen knives, snuck out and engraved their name in the biggest tree there was in the court garden.

“Yeah,” Junhoe sighed contently, “why?”  
“well I checked recently and look” Hanbin pointed right above Junhoe’s head,

_‘KJ + KH’_

And right underneath

_‘Junhoe and Hanbin’_

That’s the one they had engraved when they were fifteen and surrounding it was a heart which they had engraved when they were sixteen and above the heart was a _‘forever’_ engraved.

“we were naïve” Junhoe smiled, “Why?” Hanbin asked, “were still together right? We still love each other and you’d better be here for me because I’ll be here for you”   
Junhoe sighed, he smiled at Hanbin’s word which had made more impact than the older knew.   
“of course,” Junhoe said before Jiyong and Seunghyun approached them.

“Prince Hanbin! You were supposed to be changing five minutes ago!” Jiyong yelled, Hanbin suddenly remembered that this was _his_ wedding day and sprinted towards the castle, Jiyong following close behind.

Seunghyun sat down next to Junhoe, “I can practically hear your bones break” Junhoe joked, Seunghyun hit him on the head, “I’m thirty not ninety” Seunghyun said as he hit Junhoe on the head, he laughed.

“You don’t have to be here y’know” Seunghyun said,   
“Of course I do, Hanbin would have my head if I wasn’t there”   
Seunghyun sighed, he probably would but he couldn’t quite figure out what Junhoe might be going through.   
“I still remember after you and Jiyong got married, Hanbin and I agreed that we would marry next and that you two would be our witness” Junhoe said, smiling. They were thirteen when Jiyong and Seunghyun got married, their young minds had wanted to get married right then and there.

“You’ll have a great wedding of your own one day” Seunghyun reassured him with a smile.   
“I doubt it,” Junhoe said before standing up, “I should get ready as well” he said as Seunghyun also stood up. “I should get back to check if Jiyong hasn’t fainted from the stress” Seunghyun said as they both walked back to the castle.

 

Junhoe was dressed in golden armor chest plate and pauldrons, red and black sequence hanging from his right shoulder to his left side and back up to his right shoulder from the back. His black hair was _intentionally_ messily sitting on top of his head, Hanbin told him he looked handsome with his hair messy.

Hanbin was dressed in white from head to toe, with the same red black sequence as Junhoe. Jiwon was dressed in the same but instead of red and black sequence he was wearing silver and blue – the colors of Valmeria, which would be replaced by Hanbin with a black and red one as soon as they were married.

 

Junhoe doesn’t remember much, he remembers standing next to the couple together with Jiwon’s best man Donghyuk. Donghyuk had moved to Aléria after Jiwon had announced his marriage, he had joined the royal guard so he could become Jiwon’s personal guard. Junhoe and Donghyuk had become great friends as they were from the same year, Donghyuk only being older by a few months.

He remembers tears, Hanbin and Jiwon were both crying whilst the king was looking smiling and clapping for his son and his new province.   
Junhoe drank, together with Donghyuk. They were both still underaged both being twenty but no one cared today, and it wasn’t like the boys hadn’t drank before. They snuck a few bottles of beer or wine from the kitchen every Friday evening after training, if anyone noticed they didn’t tell.

He remembers dancing, with all kinds of people, with Donghyuk, some of the court staff, some of the girl guests and even some of the male guests and eventually with Hanbin.

And strangely Hanbin’s face is the only thing he clearly remembered, it was happy so full of glee and Junhoe realized that he could’ve never matched with Jiwon to begin with.

So Junhoe smiled, through all the little flips and tugs his heart did, he smiled and he danced with Hanbin until he brought him back to Jiwon who’s face matched Hanbin’s perfectly, Jiwon took Hanbin’s hands from Junhoe and Junhoe watched Hanbin leave his forever with Junhoe to start his forever with Jiwon.

Junhoe smiled, as much as it hurt, he smiled because he loved Hanbin enough to let him go.

Tonight they partied, not knowing that this was the start of something horrible.


	2. Where nothing really mattered except the colors silver and blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanbin and Jiwon are crowned as kings and Valmeria declares war,  
> in the midst of it Junhoe has an encounter with sharp eyes with a silver blue bandana wrapped around his neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a little bit shorter than the last chapter I hope you guys don't mind!  
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, next chapter will really start things off!

Things happened fast after the marriage of Hanbin and Jiwon, a few months later the king got sick it went slowly but it eventually took his life. Jiwon couldn’t be there for the burial, he was out for business.  
Junhoe was the one to pull Hanbin through, the older reaching out for Junhoe whenever the younger was within arm reach. The day of the burial was a day of immense sadness for the entire kingdom, Hanbin’s father was buried next to his wife and Junhoe’s parents their grave was next to theirs. Junhoe was dressed in armor, like he was on most days. Hanbin was dressed in formal black attire, a bouquet of Gladiolus flowers to represent remembrance.

A day of sorrow was to be followed by a day of joy, Hanbin and Jiwon’s coronation would take place a week after the burial. The entire court was busy with preparations, Junhoe had tried talking to Jiyong only to get a piece of bread shoved in his mouth.

The royal guard was prepared to assure security for the new kings and for the folk, Junhoe and Donghyuk were assigned as personal guards to the kings by Captain Lee.

 

Junhoe had been standing in front of Hanbin’s chamber door for a good three hours now, checking people for anything that could harm the prince. According to all the maids he’s let in he’s still asleep. It was nine o’clock in the morning, meaning Junhoe had been standing here since six in the morning.  
Only when Junhoe heard stumbling and footsteps in the room did he notice that Hanbin had awakened. Junhoe looked at his right as he noticed a figure coming up the stairs, his hand already tightening on the sword that was sheathed to his side. He let loose once he noticed it was another one of the maids, “at ease, Junhoe-yah” the maid smiled. Junhoe snickered as he opened the door, Bom had been one of the maids that have been here for as long as Junhoe remembers.

He closed the door behind Bom and heard her greeting Hanbin cheerfully through the door and he faintly heard his sleepy reply. Before Junhoe could get back into position Bom was out of the room already “Hanbin-ssi requests your presence” she said as she descended down the stairs.

Junhoe poked his head around the door, “You needed me?” he said as professionally as possible. “Junhoe come in!” Hanbin smiled sheepishly from his bed, Junhoe entered the room and went back in position. “Junhoe” Hanbin whined, “I know you’re on duty but we’re best friends”  
Junhoe sighed “Hanbin you’ll be the death of me some day” Hanbin smiled, “If you’ll just do your job right I won’t be”

The coronation went smoothly until Hanbin and Jiwon were to be crowned, someone in the crowd was quick to draw a knife and skillfully throw it Jiwon’s way, Donghyuk was able to pull Jiwon aside just in time. That throw was the signal for hell to break loose. People were screaming and weapons were being pulled the royal guards came from every direction, Captain Lee was chasing the man who threw the knife. There was so much happening at once, Hanbin didn’t even notice a second knife being thrown but this time his way. He flinched, expecting to feel the impaling of his skin. But it never came, he opened his eyes and noticed a big figure standing in front of him. Junhoe had protected him, he had wielded off the knife, or so he thought. Junhoe fell to his knees, Hanbin rushing to his aid only to see the knife had managed to impale Junhoe’s neck between his layers of armor, the knife was still stuck in his throat. Hanbin was about to pull it out in panic as he saw Junhoe struggling to breathe and his eyes widened. Hanbin put his hand on the handle of the knife when Donghyuk was quick to stop him “Don’t!” he yelled making Hanbin put his hands away from the knife as if he touched fire. “If you pull it out he’ll bleed to death” he said crouching next to Hanbin. Junhoe’s neck was already bleeding, some of the blood had caught on Hanbin’s hands and clothing.  
“When you said I’d be the death of you I didn’t think I’d actually be” Hanbin said with tears in his eyes, Junhoe gave a stupid grin, “Sounds like the best cause to me” he said weakly. Hanbin carefully held Junhoe in his arms until the doctors showed up to take the injured with them.

The operation was painful, no matter how many numbing plants, drinks or spices they gave him he could still feel it. “You’re doing great Mr. Koo” the doctors kept saying as they removed the knife and tried to restore the damage that had been done.

Junhoe was out for three days after the operation, waking up only to find out Hanbin was officially a king now and that Captain Lee had died.

“Who will be the new captain?” Junhoe had asked, Hanbin looked nervous as he reached for Jiwon’s hand who was seated next to Hanbin on the side of Junhoe’s bed. “We’ve talked with the royal guard, and they all agreed that you were the most capable man.” He said “But if you don’t want the position I’ll-” “I’ll do it” Junhoe interrupted Hanbin.

Valmeria had been the main suspect for the trouble during the coronation, they haven’t been very subtle in showing their distaste towards Aléria. The king has expressed his disapproval of Hanbin and has expressed his interest in taking back Roselyn more than once. That’s why the war didn’t surprise anyone.

King Kim had declared war to Aléria, wanting to take both Roselyn back and take the entire kingdom. Junhoe and Donghyuk were sent out to fight for their land, men all over the kingdom were being recruited and even women.

The war had been going on for a month or two and no one had gotten anywhere yet, every time Junhoe and his army had defeated the army of King Kim, he came back with even more.

 

Junhoe sighed as he walked around their camp, they were set up in the woods near the border. Ready to march out to face the other army any time suspicion rose.  
In order to clear his head Junhoe marched further into the woods, it was a dumb move going into territory like this without any weapon.

Junhoe walked upon a little pond, he expected to be alone but he saw a small figure sitting with his back towards him.

“Hello?” Junhoe said unsure, the man jolted and turned around. Junhoe was taken aback by the man’s looks, he definitely wasn’t unpleasant to look at.  
“I mean no harm, don’t worry” Junhoe said, the man was dressed in a simple white dress shirt and simple black pants. His brown boots were discarded somewhere in the grass as his feet were dangling in the pond. The man flushed a little pink and only when Junhoe’s eyes travelled back to the man’s face did he notice the silver-blue bandana resting around his neck, a Valmerian. Junhoe must’ve been staring, “Don’t worry I’m not the one you should look out for” the man said, he had a soft voice it sounded pleasant in Junhoe’s ears.

“And how do I know you’re not lying?” Junhoe asked, the man scoffed “I don’t like war, it’s stupid but you’ll probably disagree” Junhoe raised his eyebrow “Why’d you say that?” he asked. The man rolled his eyes “You’re all the same, to you war is something to prove your glory and your worth, to show how strong your kingdom really is. It’s all about pride and never about the people”

Junhoe thought for a second as he let the words sink in, it is true that there are soldiers who might think that but in the end everyone does it to protect the people they love at home, at least his army does.

“I do what I do to protect who I love the most” Junhoe said, the man was taken off guard. He looked at Junhoe for a second. “Who might that be?” He asked, he was testing him. Trying to figure out if he was lying or not. “My best friend” Junhoe said, after all Hanbin was still his best friend. The man looked him in the eyes, Junhoe didn’t back down and the man shyly cast his eyes downward before patting the ground next to him, “sorry, most soldiers I know don’t think quite like you do” he said.  
Junhoe said down next to the smaller man, he had black hair and a mole under his eye. His beauty really was something else. “Is that so” Junhoe mused, the man nodded. “War isn’t about pride, an army is supposed to make people feel safe but armies are the reason people aren’t safe in the first place” he said, Junhoe supposes he was right. “It’s not just an army that makes the world unsafe, there are plenty of people who commit crimes and someone should protect the people from those”

“Is that what happened to your neck?” the man asked, “protecting someone?” he pointed at Junhoe’s scar, after all those months his wound had turned into an easily identifiable scar.  
“Yeah” he grinned like an idiot, “I protect what I love” he said again. The man nodded “Your friend is lucky, luckier than he might know” the man eyed Junhoe, “He’s married” Junhoe sputtered out.  
“ah, a shame.”

Junhoe noticed the accent, it was similar to Jiwon’s except that it seemed more eloquent, the man didn’t seem rich judging by his clothing. He might’ve been raised at court, maybe he was a squire.

They sat in silence for a while until Junhoe heard Donghyuk in the distance, calling out to him. “I must take my leave” he said as he bowed goodbye to the Valmerian, “Maybe we’ll meet again” the smaller man said, “you could tell me about that scar of yours, I do like me a good hero story” that was the only time Junhoe had seen the smaller smile genuinely the entire time he’d been here. “Remind me to tell you” Junhoe smiled as he jogged off towards Donghyuk’s voice.

Apparently Junhoe had spent more time with the stranger than expected, Donghyuk said that they’d gotten worried after Junhoe hadn’t returned within the hour and they spend about half an hour looking for him.

Junhoe apologized to Donghyuk saying he had gotten lost in thought instead of saying he had just met with the enemy.

You know the saying, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you all like it! Comments and Kudos are appreciated, they always inspire me to write more!


	3. Some apples couldn't fall further from the tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jinhwan thinks about many things but somehow they all lead back to a stupid grin from an Alérian man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter will focus a little more on Jinhwan's life and that of Chanwoo and will also tell you a little bit as their position in the Valmerian kingdom! I hope you enjoy!  
> It's a little short and I promise the next chapter is longer I just need to get some information out there before i write the longer chapters!

Jinhwan kept his feet dangling in the water for a while after the man had left, he wouldn’t admit it but every second the Alérian was in his presence he had been keeping his breath in a little. Jinhwan also worried about his sharp tongue sometimes, he dared to offend a goddamn soldier and not just _any_ soldier the Captain of the royal guard. Jinhwan had noticed the logo, the two crossing swords with the horse head in the center – a small detail but noticeable nonetheless. They were supposed to be a warning. Although the man seemed too young to be the captain, most of them were at least older than twenty-five and this guy seemed like he was at the end of his teens.

He gently touched the silver blue fabric around his neck, the bandana was neatly tied around his neck. He couldn’t take it off, even if he wanted to. It was so tightly tied around his neck he couldn’t get the knot out. He’s been wearing it for a long time, it’s almost as if he’s forced to show off he’s Valerian.

“Jinhwan hyung!”

Jinhwan was pulled out of his thoughts by the voice calling out to him, he turned around to see Chanwoo there.  
“Chanwoo are you out of your mind?!” Jinhwan said furiously “You’re on enemies territory”  
“Hyung are you hypocritical?” Chanwoo said bewildered “You’re the one who came here in the first place! If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t even have to be here”

Jinhwan sighed, he supposed the younger was right although that didn’t justify his reckless behavior. “What if anyone saw you?” Jinhwan hissed as the younger said down next to him, taking off his boots. “Oh they did, there was a soldier. I told him a sob story about how I went to Valeria to make some easy money, because my mom was sick. But then the war broke out and I was still in Valeria and all that stuff and he let me pass through” Chanwoo smiled proudly as he dipped his feet in the pond.

“Jesus Chanwoo what if the guy wanted to escort you back?” Jinhwan said, the younger was the best at lying and acting a quality Jinhwan often used to their advantage but sometimes the younger used his gift a little too recklessly. “Well he actually did offer, he was so sweet hyung!” Chanwoo said dreamy “He was really kind, he offered to escort me to my home with his horse but I declined telling him I knew the way and felt safe enough to be back in Aléria to walk on my own” Chanwoo looked over the pond as Jinhwan listened “I also said I didn’t want to waste his time, he also offered me some money for my sick mom but I had to decline I mean I wanted to cross the border not rob the man off of his money”

Jinhwan laughed “Sounds like you had fun,” he said relieved knowing Chanwoo didn’t get into any trouble. “He was really handsome hyung!” Chanwoo whined “Why aren’t the Valerian men that handsome”

Jinhwan had to agree that the Alérian men were quite handsome as the captain looked quite handsome himself, “He was so nice I don’t understand why war was the king’s only solution” Chanwoo sighed as he let himself fall back onto the grass. Jinhwan sighed, he wish he knew as well. If it were him, he would’ve sat around the table with the Alérian kings, they seemed more reasonable than the former king Kim.

“Did you get his name?” Jinhwan asked,

“what?” Chanwoo said, Jinhwan sighed “His name, did you get it?”

Chanwoo sighed “I didn’t, I wish I had asked”

Jinhwan smiled, “You’ll meet other handsome men Chanwoo,”

 

Chanwoo was about to reply when he was startled by hearing a horse get near, he shot up and Jinhwan looked around anxiously. If the captain noticed his bandana right away then others would too and this soldier might not be as kind as the captain had been to Jinhwan.

Chanwoo had noticed as well, the boy had been quick to react and pushed Jinhwan into the bushes, the older protested but Chanwoo shushed the older.

Jinhwan was hiding in the bushes as the horse got closer and closer, Chanwoo tried to calm himself down as he sat by the side of the pond.

“ah, it’s you”

Jinhwan looked up to see a man sitting on top of a white horse, adorned in armor matching that of the soldier.

Chanwoo’s face lit up upon seeing the man, “My, my soldier. I hadn’t expected to see you this soon again” he smiled. The man stepped down from his horse, holding it by the reins. “an old lady who lived nearby informed me about hearing voices here, who would I be to ignore the possible harm to my kingdom” the man had said “But you don’t seem like harm to our kingdom” the man smiled, Chanwoo was definitely right when he said the man was handsome but Jinhwan thought he looked a little similar to the younger. “I always sit here, it’s quiet here” Chanwoo told the soldier, “and you decide to ruin that by talking so loud that some of the people think you could mean harm” the soldier said and Jinhwan had to hold in his laughter. “Hey! I didn’t ruin it with talking I blessed it with my singing” Chanwoo said, the man cocked his eye “well, would you like to sing for me then?” Chanwoo’s eyes widened “for you?” “yes for me” Chanwoo looked down “I can’t sing for someone whose name I don’t know” he said and if Jinhwan wasn’t supposed to be hiding he would go out there and push Chanwoo in the water for that cliché.

“Yunhyeong” the man had said,  
“Chanwoo” the younger replied back and Jinhwan really wanted to push him in the water for giving his name.

Chanwoo was about to open his mouth when more horses were heard in the distance,  
A few other soldiers showed up, not caring the slightest about Chanwoo as they looked at Yunhyeong. “Get your ass on your horse, Valeria is ambushing the camp” one of them said, Yunhyeong’s eyes widened as he jumped back on his horse, the other man already riding away.  
“Get out of here Chanwoo” Yunhyeong told the younger before he urged the horse forwards to jump over the bushes – right over Jinhwan.

Jinhwan scrambled out of the bushes, “did you know anything about an ambush?” Jinhwan asked Chanwoo, the younger shook his head. “Let’s have a look” Chanwoo said as he threw Jinhwan’s boots towards the older and put on his own. Chanwoo followed the track of Yunhyeong’s horse with Jinhwan following close behind, “Chanwoo get back here” the older scolded, “C’mon we should really get back to our own camp” Chanwoo ignored the elder as he kept following the tracks, the clashing of swords and screaming of men becoming clearer with every step they took. Jinhwan pulled Chanwoo behind a bush when they younger threatened to get too close. “c’mon let’s go” the elder hissed as he pulled Chanwoo back with him “we’re leaving,” Jinhwan said as he dragged Chanwoo with him, Chanwoo looked in the distance. “I want you to think of a reason why we’ve been away for this long” Jinhwan said, sparking Chanwoo’s interest.

 

Chanwoo and Jinhwan had reached the camp just before the royal guard returned, Jinhwan had noticed the Valerian captain wasn’t leading the group. Minho had been the one to lead the soldiers back to camp. They were covered in dirt and blood, there were significantly less horses than there were before the ambush and a lot of soldiers were injured.  
Jinhwan noticed that the nurses rushed out of the nursery tents, Jinwoo immediately rushed to Minho’s side to help the soldier with his wounds but he insisted that he helped the others first. Seunghoon was carrying Seungyoon on his shoulders, the man seemed to have a big bloody wound on his leg. Suhyun ushered Seunghoon and Seungyoon into one of the medical tents. Jinhwan watched as many of his friends were brought back to camp injured. From the looks of it this ambush had backfired more than anything. Suwon caught a glimpse of Jinhwan, the older man had always been a big part of Jinhwan upbringing, the man was smiled tiredly at Jinhwan before rushing back to the aid of other soldiers.

Jinhwan ushered Chanwoo back to their own tent to have others take care of the situation, Chanwoo sat down on the bed that was placed in their tent. He took off his boots and pulled out a basket with apples from underneath his bed, Jinhwan looked at the younger with a frown.

“we went out to pick apples from an apple farm close by, we thought it would do the soldiers good” Chanwoo said, Jinhwan sighed. “You’re lucky they think we’re stupid enough to do things like that”  
“so you’re saying that you didn’t go into the territory of the enemy just to stick your fucking feet in a pond?” Chanwoo said and Jinhwan hit the younger on the head. “where the hell did you get those apples anyways?” Jinhwan asked, “I actually met a really nice lady on the border the other day, she gave me a basket full of apples and told me that a young man should eat healthy so he’d be fit for war”

Jinhwan supposes that’s what the Alérians did, young men around Chanwoo’s aged were called upon to become soldiers. Come to think of it the Alérian captain seemed around Chanwoo’s age.

“The Alérians sure like you a lot” Jinhwan said, Chanwoo smiled as he took a bite of one of the apples “I’m very likable” he said with a mouthful, “I thought you were supposed to have manners” Jinhwan scolded the younger, who only laughed as he took another bite. “she even gave me a bandana with the Alérian colors, might be smart to keep it for disguise” the younger wiggled his eyebrows with an excited look on his face, Jinhwan knew immediately that today certainly wasn’t the last time the boy would cross the borders but then again Jinhwan knew for a fact this wasn’t his last time either.

Jinhwan was erupted from his thoughts as someone entered the tent and both of the boys brought their attention to the man standing there, Chanwoo hurried to his feet and bowed, “your highness” he said quickly swallowing the remains of the apple, as the Valerian king stood in the entrance of the tent. Jinhwan did the same but a little more slowly,

 “Hello father”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO I think you all can guess what Jinhwan's position is :)


	4. Tell me something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2nd meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, this is pretty short because I have a lot of tests and exams right now but I still wanted to get a chapter out! I'll try my best to update again in a week or so! Hopefully a longer chapter! enjoy this however!!

The king was about to open his mouth – probably asking where they’ve been, when Minho walked in.  
The king sighed but turned his attention towards the soldier anyways “Report Soldier” the king said. Minho jolted for a second before speaking up, “We lost twenty men, thirty-two injured, eleven horses ran away or were killed” he said. The king was obviously displeased with the news as a scowl showed on his face “and the opponents?”   
“Definitely lost a few men, a lot were injured, we did manage to injure their captain however. We managed to pierce his shoulder, the dagger had been stuck there the entire fight so he’ll definitely need some time to recover”

 

The pain in his shoulder was only a minor inconvenience during the fight, he was a captain and should be the very last one standing to defend his men. To his left Donghyuk had been stabbed in the leg making him stumble and fall down, Junhoe jumped in front of his friend to defend him. He helped Donghyuk back up and let him cling onto his back, Junhoe was still fending the enemies away from him. Somewhere in the corner of his eye he saw Yunhyeong in the middle of a fight with two Valerians and one of them seemed to be the captain.

Yunhyeong pushed his sword through the back of the Valerian captain as he dodged an attack from another soldier. As soon as he withdrew his sword from the back of the man he heard the Valerians yell to retreat.

 

Junhoe carefully placed Donghyuk in front of the medical tent, he was about to help more soldiers to the medical tent when Donghyuk reached out for Junhoe’s hand.   
“You moron, you’re injured yourself” he said as he eyed the dagger in his shoulder, the cuts here and there and the blood staining his clothes.   
“I can’t, I have to help-” Junhoe stumbled out before tugging himself from Donghyuk’s grip.

Junhoe was back at the battlefield, many bodies were sprawled out on the field. Dead and alive.

Junhoe looked around, the groaning of soldiers calling out to the healthy ones. Junhoe helped another man back up and helped him to the medical tent before being stopped by Jennie.

“Junhoe I’m not going to let you carry on with that dagger stuck in your shoulder” she said sternly as she dragged him inside the medical tent. Junhoe was sat down and given a piece of cloth, “Bite down on this, it’s going to hurt” Jennie said as she helped him out of his armor and clothing.

“That’s a nasty wound, Koo” Jennie said, Junhoe laughed “When is it not?”   
Jennie was cleaning the area around the dagger as Junhoe’s mind was racing.   


Had the palace been attacked? Was this only a distraction for them to get their army to the palace? Is Hanbin safe? Had the man from the pond known about this? Was that also a distraction?

 

Junhoe was brutally ripped out of his thoughts by Jennie removing the dagger.

 

 

A few hours later Junhoe was patched up, bandages around his wounds.   
“See for yourself if you can find a shirt somewhere, I have to get to other patients now” Jennie said as he bowed her head to the captain and let him out.

Junhoe walked out of the medical tent only to find himself walking back to the place he had been in the morning.

He didn’t know why, he hadn’t expected the man to be there again but he definitely hoped. Maybe the man had never left because he sat there in the exact same spot.

“Good evening” Junhoe had said and just like the first time they had met, the man jolted up.   
“What happened?” The man asked as soon as he noticed it was Junhoe, at first Junhoe didn’t know how the man had noticed his injuries but then he realized he never went looking for a new shirt.

“ah, your army ambushed our camp” Junhoe said sourly, he saw the man’s eyes widen “I had no idea..” he said softly as Junhoe sat down next to him. Junhoe just hummed, he didn’t want to trust the man but he had a feeling he was telling the truth. “We lost a few men, most are injured but I’m mostly worried about the palace” Junhoe said to the man, “Is that special person of yours a habitant of the court?” the  smaller man had asked him.

Junhoe couldn’t help but laugh, maybe it was the way he spoke about anything related to Hanbin. “I guess you could say so” he said as he looked at the smaller man, the moonlight’s reflection in the water reflected in his eyes. He also noticed the faint blush on the smaller’s face as he stared at Junhoe’s chest, rather than his eyes. “How about you” he asked as he looked down, “a special someone in your life?”

The smaller shook his head, “My father doesn’t allow me to get out of.. the house..” he said unsurely, “actually, not many people know of my existence except for a few… acquaintances and my best friend” he said uneasy. Junhoe looked down, “I’m sorry, you deserve a better life than that”

“So do you, you shouldn’t be here fighting against my country who’s acting selfishly. You should be protecting those who you want to protect by their side and not here on a battlefield” he said.

“I guess we all deserve more than this” Junhoe said, “We never really talked about our lives huh,” Junhoe had said, “I don’t even know your name” he laughed. The smaller man was quiet for a moment so Junhoe decided to be the first to introduce himself.

“Koo Junhoe, captain of the royal guard” he said.

After a few moments of silence the other spoke up,

“Jinhwan” he said quietly.

“Nice to meet you Jinhwan” Junhoe said, Jinhwan smiled “Likewise, Junhoe”

 

Chanwoo was watching from a distance as the attractive tall man made his way towards Jinhwan before sneaking off to the camp of the Alérians, he just had to know if Yunhyeong was okay.   
Chanwoo had found the horse not too far from the camp, giving him the perfect excuse to see the other man.

He cautiously walked around the border of the camps, seeing numerous soldiers on the way. He wondered if he should ask them about Yunhyeong but quickly realized that may be the quickest way to get himself killed.

He was about to give up his search and prepare for the worst when he turned around and almost bumped into a white horse, Chanwoo stumbled backwards and fell flat on his behind. The horse greedily reaching for his apples. Chanwoo hadn’t even noticed the man who was sitting on top of the horse, “care to keep your horse under control?” he said snappy, the man on the horse chuckled. “Chanwoo-yah I hadn’t expected to see you here anytime soon” Chanwoo looked up and looked straight at Yunhyeong, he felt relief wash over him as he saw the man was, mostly, fine. He had a few cuts on his face and the rest of the armor was probably covering his other wounds. “O my god” Chanwoo breathed out, he didn’t even know why he was so worried about someone he barely knew but as soon as Yunhyeong got off of his horse Chanwoo threw himself at him. “I heard about the ambush so I just had to check and see if you were okay” He said, Yunhyeong wrapped his arms around Chanwoo who hadn’t expected it. “we explicitly told the surrounding habitants to find shelter somewhere else but you must be part of the few who were too stubborn to leave behind their belongings” he smiled and Chanwoo felt himself frowning, he loved to lie or as he liked to call it – act. But towards Yunhyeong it felt wrong, it felt deceiving. “Yeah- my mom isn’t fit enough to travel and my grandma is too stubborn to leave” he said – although these weren’t complete lies, his mom really was sick and she really did live in this part of Aléria which used to be Valeria. “I could always help, safety of our habitants is our top priority” Yunhyeong said concerned and Chanwoo melted, “It’s fine, this used to be Valerian lands so maybe they’ll spare the habitants” Yunhyeong smiled again “I hope you’re right”

“How are you doing?” Chanwoo asked as he carefully reached out to Yunhyeong’s cheek, there was a deep cut just underneath his eye. Yunhyeong winced and Chanwoo quickly retracted his hand as if he burned himself, Yunhyeong grabbed his hand however and brought it back to his cheek. He smiled softly as Chanwoo felt himself blush.

He really shouldn’t do this, Yunhyeong was not only a soldier he was an enemy soldier. Chanwoo shouldn’t even be here, he should be keeping an eye out for Jinhwan.

But Yunhyeong looked at Chanwoo in a way he couldn’t describe, not even the soldiers from the Valerian guard trying to woo and court him looked at him like that. Yunhyeong and Chanwoo had only known each other for a day but Chanwoo felt like they knew each other for years.

“I could’ve been better, but there were soldiers who were off worse than me” Yunhyeong said, I almost got myself killed” he chuckled and Chanwoo’s eyes widened. “their captain almost chopped my head right off”. Chanwoo frowned as he looked at Yunhyeong, “Don’t look at me like that, I’m still here” he said gently. Tapping Chanwoo softly on his nose, who blushed immediately. “You’re cute” he said and Chanwoo gawked at him “definitely not”

“you definitely are” Yunhyeong smiled and Chanwoo could look at that face for eons.

 

“Tell me something Jinhwan” Junhoe said as he looked up to the sky. Jinhwan looked at him “Like what” Junhoe shrugged, something about your family, your friends, life in Valeria, how did you grow up things like that” Jinhwan snickered. “You haven’t had a normal conversation in a while huh?” Jinhwan said, Junhoe shook his head “It’s always about strategy or going back home, I know almost every single story of my soldiers and I don’t have many people to talk to anymore” he said.

Jinhwan thought for a moment how he should tell this, he couldn’t say he was the prince or raised at court obviously so he had to pull some tricks from Chanwoo’s sleeve.

“Well, I’m an only child. My mother died when I was ten and my father took care of me since then,” he started out, Junhoe’s attention all on him making him a little flustered “I was raised by a lot of family members, we all lived together. My father is always busy doing something, he’s very protective of me which is why I was never allowed to leave the house” he sighed “He finally allowed me to have a friend, it was the son of one of his employees, he came to work. He’s actually from this part of Vale- I mean Aléria” Jinhwan remembers meeting Chanwoo, the younger was almost half his age but it was the first child Jinhwan had ever been able to talk to. Chanwoo’s father was a very poor man trying to provide for his family. Chanwoo’s father did a lot of dirty work around the castle and eventually Jinhwan’s father paid him to keep Jinhwan’s identity a secret since his son was associated with Jinhwan a lot after becoming friends. 

“He’s around your age,” Jinhwan said, Junhoe laughed “How old do you think I am?” he asked. Jinhwan took a good look at Junhoe, he was tall and had a handsome face and if Jinhwan didn’t know better he would think he was around his age, but that glint in his eyes reminded him of Chanwoo’s youth like personality. Although Junhoe’s air was more refined and adult-like in comparison to Chanwoo.

“eighteen?” he guessed, Junhoe looked impressed at him “I’m nineteen but you were close” he said and Jinhwan smiled, “I’m twenty-two” he said. Junhoe shot up from his position on the ground “You’re twenty-two?” he asked, “I would’ve guessed you were twenty or younger!” he said. Jinhwan laughed “I shall take that as a compliment” he said.

“Tell me something about you Koo Junhoe” Jinhwan said. Junhoe sighed as he thought for a moment. Jinhwan was thinking if he was going to twist the truth like he had done.

“well, I never really knew my parents. They died when I was very young, they left me in the care of King Kim. He was kind to me, I was raised by the court staff mostly. I was raised together with the son of the King”

‘Hanbin’, Jinhwan thought.

“we we’re best friends, when I had nothing I’d always have Hanbin. He was always shy and very timid. I’d always get us into trouble but in the end Hanbin had the best time which is what I felt like was my duty. It had always been the two of us, always” Junhoe looked gently up at the sky with a goofy smile on his face.

Something clicked within Jinhwan,

“He’s your special someone isn’t he”

Junhoe sighed “It’s obvious huh?” he said.

“want to tell me what happened?” Jinhwan asked, he didn’t mean to pry but he was curious as to why Hanbin was married to Jiwon.

“we we’re more than happy together, I was – am so incredibly in love with Hanbin. And he was in love with me, until” Junhoe’s expression turned, somewhat sad but more so disappointed “He never met other people besides from me so it was to be expected he’d fall in love with someone better than me, he met Jiwon. Jiwon didn’t know, couldn’t have known as things weren’t public yet”

“He fell in love with Jiwon?” Jinhwan asked, Junhoe nodded.

“I called off our engagement as soon as he told me, he felt so guilty. But I could just see, he was so in love with Jiwon. It was like looking into my own reflection, it was the way I would look at Hanbin”

“Like he held the universe in his eyes” Jinhwan concluded and Junhoe grinned and nodded.

 

“aren’t you sad? Wished you’d fought more. I mean you two were engaged and you could’ve easily married him” Jinhwan asked, Junhoe shook his head.

“Maybe I should’ve fought more for him, but I want what’s best for Hanbin. I had to accept that it was never going to be me. I want him to be happy and that’s why I am here, so he can be happy in safety.” Junhoe said, “And if it weren’t for all of that, we wouldn’t have met” he turned his head to face Jinhwan and grinned at him like an idiot and Jinhwan felt his face heat up for a moment.

“I should thank him sometimes” Jinhwan said trying to sound sassy but failing, Junhoe’s grin got even bigger if that was even possible. “when this is all over I’ll arrange a meeting” he smiled and Jinhwan hoped that it would all end soon, in Aléria’s favor.

His father would be so disappointed in him, rooting for the enemy, becoming friends with the enemy. It’s everything he never wanted his son to be. But when he laid in the grass here, together with Junhoe, he didn’t really care. This is the most free he’s ever felt whilst most people would feel trapped in a war.

Jinhwan couldn’t go anywhere unless his father was there, and war meant Jinhwan was going with him to the camps. Luckily for Jinhwan he was too busy there to miss him or Chanwoo, he was also lucky that Seungyoon often covered for them. Chanwoo also had half of the soldiers wrapped around his finger willing to be their alibi any time.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Junhoe asked, Jinhwan smiled again.

“I was thinking about how dangerous it is of me to be here” he said, “I mean I’m a literal human embodiment of Valeria. This stupid bandana around my neck, the Valerian flag on almost every piece of clothing I own” he sighed.

“why don’t you wear different clothes then?” Junhoe asked him,

“Why don’t you wear clothes in general” Jinhwan said referring to Junhoe’s naked top half, he laughed “touché”

“But to answer your question, I can’t really. My dad, he’s, well. Very proud, too proud to an insane level of Valeria so I have to wear this so everyone knows” Jinhwan said “That we are pureblood Valerians” he sighed.

Junhoe nodded, “when this is over we’ll buy you some new clothes” he said.  
“who says we’ll be friends after this” Jinhwan laughed nervously. For some reason the thought of it scared him, he never really had anyone except for Chanwoo.   
“I did, you are not going to get rid of me any time soon” Junhoe said, grinning.

“I’m your 2nd friend ever, they’d have to kill me to get rid of me”

Jinhwan wouldn’t admit it, but his heart swelled a little at that sentence.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hoped you all like it! Comments and Kudos are appreciated, they always inspire me to write more!


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